Parberry Block East - White Sulphur Springs , MT - Frieze Art on Waymarking.com

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Parberry Block East - White Sulphur Springs , MT

in Frieze Art

Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 507451 N 5154958

One of the original commercial buildings in White Sulphur Springs, Parberry Block East was home to one of the longest running series of clothing stores in the state.

Never have we seen an otherwise ordinary historic building with so many nicknames:

Parberry Brick Block, Parberry Brick Building, McDonald & Armitage, Coad & McDonald Store, Wilts Bros. Building, the Edwards, Library, the Western Building, the Scoop, Parberry East.

One might take this to mean that it has had a long and interesting history, which was the case.

On the south side of East Main Street in the main commercial district, the two storey brick Parberry Block East was completed in 1891. "Late Victorian Romanesque Revival" in design, the building exhibits a substantial amount of pressed metal, including in the cornice, the gabled pediment, the pilasters at each upper corner and in the semicircular medallions in the arched transoms over each upper story window. Below these transoms is a row of sandstone which serves as lintels for the row of windows. Throughout the building's façade is brick corbelling in several different styles. The "Romanesque" in the style is expressed predominantly in the pressed metal corner pilasters and the gabled pediment, each having small round Roman styled columns and gables.

The building is divided into three bays by four brick pilasters, each with sandstone caps and dividers. The narrowest, the centre bay, is only wide enough for a door which leads to a staircase to the upper floor, which serves as apartments. Its façade is raised somewhat from that of the outer bays. Each of the outer bays has a recessed entry, the left (east) bay being slightly wider than the right (west) bay, making the building somewhat asymmetrical.

The first business to open in the building was a clothing store, owned by the Wiltze brothers. The store went on to change hands through a long series of proprietors. Amazingly, through all the economic ups and downs of White Sulphur Springs, the final clothing store in the building closed in 2007, leaving behind an unbroken string of clothing stores in the building 116 years long, quite possibly the longest in the state.

The clothing stores all occupied the east bay of the building. The history of the west bay is much less well documented. We know that is was, for much of the twentieth century, a grocery store, with brief stints as the town library and of vacancy. A sign reading "R&R Sports & Western Wear" still hangs over the east bay while a small sign reading "Bliss Crafters" hangs in the window of the west bay. Beyond that, we know nothing of the current status of the building.

On the east wall of the building, facing an alley, are two painted ghost signs. The upper one is that of the the original owners of the original clothing store in the building, the Wiltze brothers. Near the bottom of the wall, below the Wiltze brothers sign, is a Levi Strauss sign, nearly as old as the Wiltze brothers sign.

Parberry Block East

Dr. William Parberry, one of the founders of White Sulphur Springs, constructed Parberry Block East in 1891, during a time of optimism and heady commercial development in the town and across the state. Parberry's investment signaled a continued unflagging belief in the sustained growth and success of the locality, and added substantially to the built environment. Through the twentieth century, the Parberry Block East Building continued to serve as an important part of the commercial environment. It housed a number of different businesses through the years serving the downtown community, including clothing and food stores. It is one of a handful of extant buildings in White Sulphur Springs dating to the turn of the twentieth century and the only one displaying Western Commercial architecture with Late Victorian Romanesque Revival style details.

Parberry invested in the town, and by 1883 constructed the Parberry Building (immediately west and adjoining the Parberry Block East Building) on the corner of Main and Third Streets. It housed the First National Bank where Parberry became president, as well as the Masonic Hall of which he was a member. The town continued to prosper under the guidance of Parberry, who was influential in politics, serving as a member of the territorial council in 1879, as well as a delegate to the constitutional convention. Locally, he served as assessor, county treasurer, and county commissioner. His influence expanded when he was named to the first state legislature on October 1, 1889.

Upon completion of the Parberry Block East Building, the east storefront was soon occupied by the brothers George and Jesse Wiltze who opened a clothing store. Their painted business sign is still visible on the east elevation. By 1910, the Wiltze brothers sold their clothing store to Fred McDonald. McDonald and his partner began their clothing business as McDonalds and Armatages. McDonalds and Armatages clothing store closed in 1929, though the business was sold the same year to Art Watson, who changed the name to Watson Toggery. Art's brother, Rob Watson, bought him out in 1931. In 1946, Watson's clothing store came under the management of Jim Ross, who renamed it Ross Dry Goods. In 1952, Rob Watson sold the business to Black and Betty Heffner, who in turn sold it as Western Clothing, to the (first name unknown) Dempseys in 1959. Bud and Shirley Watson Fogland purchased the clothing business from the Dempseys in 1967. Kenneth and Evelyn Hilten subsequently bought the business from the Foglands and later purchased the building.48 Jackie Shinabaryer and his wife Ronda purchased the business (and building) in 1996 from Jackie's uncle and aunt, Kenneth and Evelyn Hilton. The Shinabaryers sold the building and clothing business to Catherine and Roy Rach in 1999. With the acquisition of the building by Bricks&Brains, LLC, in 2007, the eastern side of the building's continuous operation as a clothing store came to an end.

The rental history of the west storefront is less well known. By 1920, the west storefront was rented and used as a grocery store by John Coad. Coad rented his grocery store in the west storefront for decades, but sold to Russell Edwards in 1948. In 1955, Coad was admitted to the Castle Mountain Rest Home following a stroke. In 1952, Edwards moved the grocery to a larger building, leaving the west storefront vacant. The space remained empty until the late 50s when it housed the county library for a brief time. The library was subsequently moved to the City Hall.
From the NRHP Nomination Form

PARBERRY BLOCK EAST
Dr. William Parberry, who constructed this two-story business block in 1891, was one of White Sulphur Springs’ founders and biggest boosters. The Parberry Block East’s upper story features many Romanesque Revival elements including rounded arches over the windows, intricate stone panel insets within the arches, rough-cut sandstone capitals and lintels, and a decorative pressed-iron pediment. Frontier communities mimicked the Romanesque Revival style for its suggestion of permanence. By incorporating elements from this architectural style, Parberry asserted his belief that this small startup community would prosper for centuries, just as had the buildings of eleventh- and twelfth-century Europe. The first story features plate-glass display windows set in cast-iron frames. Commercial storefronts in larger communities commonly featured large display windows to attract shoppers, but their appearance here is remarkable because the glass likely was transported by ox-drawn wagons from the nearest railhead, forty miles away. In 1893, during a nationwide depression, Parberry’s expectations for the town received a setback. That year, the U.S. government stopped purchasing silver to mint coins, causing the area’s silver mines to close and White Sulphur Springs’ population to fall. Nonetheless, this well-constructed building seldom lacked for tenants.

George and Jesse Wiltse opened the first of several clothing stores to occupy the east storefront; their painted business sign is still visible on the east elevation. The west storefront housed various other businesses, including the city’s first major grocery store. Upstairs offered residential rooms and professional offices, including those of the city’s first telephone exchange.
From the NRHP plaque at the building